PORT TOWNSEND — Strawberry fields, salmon, sea lions, humans: They’re the subjects of “We Are Puget Sound,” the lecture and nature photography exhibit hosted free of charge by the Port Townsend Marine Science Center.
While the photo show is on display into March, the lecture will be presented online today only; it’s open to the public via Zoom at 3 p.m.
To RSVP and watch the talk, which is subtitled “Discovering and Recovering the Salish Sea,” visit PTMSC.org.
A trio of speakers will engage in a discussion of the local marine environment: Brian Footen, the founder of EarthViews, a team that has set out to digitally map the Salish Sea’s 1,200 miles of nearshore; Mindy Roberts, who joined the Washington Environmental Council in 2016 to lead the People for Puget Sound program, and the SeaDoc Society’s Joe Gaydos, a wildlife veterinarian and winner of the Friday Harbor Film Festival Local Hero award.
Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Strait of Georgia are collectively known as the Salish Sea.
Janine Boire, executive director of the Port Townsend Marine Science Center, invites people to not only watch today’s lecture, but also visit the “We Are Puget Sound” photo exhibit.
The pronoun in “We Are Puget Sound” refers to the entire web of living things which depend on the waterway for survival, be they shellfish, whales or people, Boire has said.
The photo show, housed inside the Flagship Landing building at 1001 Water St., includes images of the Elwha River; the Skagit Valley and many places in between.
Harley Soltes’ photo pictures Pablo and Maura Silva, organic strawberry farmers who live out the motto “Take care of the land, and the land takes care of us.”
The exhibit is free to the public and open noon to 3 p.m. Fridays through Sundays.
The marine science center, which purchased Flagship Landing last summer, will move its dry exhibits and gift shop into the building’s central space in March.
This winter, the marine science center aquarium on the pier at Fort Worden State Park is closed, but its on-shore museum facing the beach at Fort Worden is open.
Its exhibits include “Learning from Orcas: The Story of Hope;” its hours are noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays with admission is by donation.
More details are available by phoning 360-385-5582.
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Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.com.
Skagit Valley organic farmers Pablo and Maura Silva appear in the Port Townsend Marine Science Center’s “We Are Puget Sound” photo exhibit. (Harley Soltes)
